CMO Confidential is a podcast series on NDA where we talk to CMOs who, while not digital in job title, have digital understanding and experience embedded in their DNA.
In this episode, we sit down with Rav Dhaliwal, Group CMO and Digital Officer, easyHotel. The result is a fascinating discussion on how digital expertise at board level is fast becoming essential for any brand that wants to keep pace with its customers.
Discussing how the CMO role has morphed over the last five to six years to put digital decision making to the fore in board decisions, Dhaliwal says:
“You’re starting to see the next evolution of leader in terms of a digital native who has lived the digital ecosystem for most of their career, and that expertise will play into the boardrooms of today and tomorrow. With the speed of digital change, the ability to be an agitator and create pos business change at speed makes it a definite advantage in having this knowledge and experience at C level”.
The conversation ranges from the increased focus on first-party data, in-housing of technology and digital talent, the digitalisation of physical experiences, the power of mobile, and why “digital is brand and brand is digital”.